The clouds were gurgling when they reached the cave, ready to spit out the water they were holding. There was some time untill night, but it didn’t matter. It was already dark around them. The sun had run away long ago. Perhaps, they should have followed its example.

“We won’t be able to catch him if he runs away from here,” Khargosh said. Pandit took a deep breath.

Raesh asked, “How are we going to do this?”

“Brother!” Pandit yelled at the cave, seeking attention. “Come out, please. I know you are in there!”

yes, there were frantic footprints in the dirt leading into the cave, but none that suggested that the opposite. “You don’t have to be afraid of us. We won’t tie you again.” He yelled, but there was no response.

“I’m going in,” Khargosh said only for Raesh to shake his head and grab his shoulder.

“Let me do it, instead.” Raesh offered. “I can take a blow or two. You stay here to catch him if he gets the jump on me.”

However, Mannat had different thoughts. “None is going inside.” He said calmly staring at the dark hole leading to a different world. “We should be thinking about how to get him out of the cave. Going inside is too dangerous.”

He could sense an oppressive wave of malice coming from the cave’s mouth. The reason Pandit was rubbing his hands was not because of cold, but his brother’s miasma, little butcher’s hatred.

He took a few steps toward the cave and raised his hand. His action was familiar to everyone present.

“Don’t be impulsive. We need to take him back alive.” Khargosh said.

Raesh also added, “There has to be another way, boy. You might cause irrecoverable damage in your haste.”

“He’s my brother!” Pandit said, but none of their words could make Mannat hesitate. They were neck-deep in trouble. Mannat knew a minute of delay might drown them.

“You heard the Witch. You have seen the rabbits.” Mannat faced Pandit and told plainly, without a hint of emotion. “Do you think he’s still your brother?”

A chill crept down Pandit’s back and shook him from the core. ‘Yes, he’s my brother!’ he thought, he wanted to say, but the words refused to rise out of his mouth. He had always doubted it. Little butcher's face, his antics, his anger, and hate had always bothered him. He had always wondered if his parents did the right thing by asking the Witch’s help. They never told him about the price they paid to get him fixed, but the Witch never fixed him in the first place. It was all a lie, a fraud, an illusion. His brother was dead. He died a long time ago. He knew, but it was too hard to admit, to believe.

“Think about it carefully, son,” Raesh said.

“I have, father.”

The mana concentrating at the palm of Mannat’s raised hand reached its maximum intensity. Mannat hoped it would work, as he had never tested the range of a ‘Mana strike’. The cave was deep. He was thinking of throwing a group of rocks inside if the skill failed to flush Little butcher out of the cave’s entrails. The rebound from the fifty points of mana that shot off his hand pushed his shoulder back. He stumbled back from the force but kept his feet. The skill could attack long-distance, but Mannat sensed its strength waning at a rapid rate the longer it trailed and the further it flew.

In the end, the loose ball of mana dissipated without touching anything after flying seven meters inside the cave.

Pandit noticed Mannat’s brows twitching and asked in confusion. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Mannat said and it was the truth, though his companions found it hard to believe. “Throw a rock inside,” He uttered, only for an inhuman howl to erupt from the depths of the cave. It was composed of hate, of malice… of hunger.

The howl drew their attention. They stared, at each other, in vigilance and fear. The wind picked up the pace. The clouds thundered and roared above their heads. The sound of hard nails scratching against the cave walls came from the cave and it furrowed their brows. Perhaps they were wrong and it wasn’t Little Butcher hiding in the cave, or so the others thought. Mannat’s believed in his senses and his training. His job entailed catching Miasmatic beasts. He only hoped Little butcher hadn’t turned into one.

Pandit gulped his fears and shivered from the cold that flowed out of the cave’s menacing mouth.

Slow but heavy footsteps rang inside the cave. Something was coming. The darkness hid their owner but proved Mannat’s words true. Little Butcher was dead.

“Get back!” Khargosh barked. His ‘Instincts’ were blaring warning at him, telling him to run. His ‘Night sight’ showed him the silhouette of the thing in the dark. He saw something swirling in the darkness. It was madness given form: hate flowed in its bulging veins, darkness made its molted flesh, and hunger burned red in its eyes.

Mannat took Pandit’s arm and fled away from the cave, while Raesh took guard with the cleaver held in front of him.

“Will anyone tell me what’s happening in there?” Raesh asked. The answer came from the cave.

It was a shriek, followed by something dark and swift that jumped out of the cave and attacked Raesh. “It’s coming!” Mannat yelled after ‘sensing’ its miasma contract and swell. His warning saved his father.

Raesh only saw something flicker in his direction and hurriedly pulled the cleaver up to protect his head. The air buzzed in front of him. The wind careened through his shirt. A strong force struck the cleaver. The weapon protected his head but got blown to bits in face of the persecution. Its broken pieces drizzled over Raesh’s face and serrated his flesh, gorging bloody lines all over his forehead, before fizzing around like broken glass and falling to the ground. Raesh gasped in pain and confusion as the bottom half of the cleaver, the broken blade and the hilt, tore the web of his palm and flew out of his hand. It passed over his shoulder and flew tearing through the air. It spun all the way like a children's toy before penetrating the ground to the hilt and coming to halt right next to Pandit.

“FATHER!” Mannat screamed as blood bloomed in the air and Raesh fell to the ground. The monstrous apparition loomed over him with an arm wide open and ready to strike like a reaper's scythe. Raesh kept his eyes on his attacker despite the blood and the pain, and desperately kicked and pushed the ground in an attempt to get away from the thing as it gazed at them with burning red eyes. He was thankful for being able to see with both his eyes but wished the sight were not so troublesome.

It was Little butcher, Mannat could attest to that. He could feel the miasma hanging around the monster. That thing looked nothing like a person. Yes, it had two legs and a similar number of arms, one head, and two eyes, but that was where the similarities ended.

Little butcher was now properly a monster, a beast, a demon. His was molting. The muscles underneath were visible and black, but there was not a drop of blood around his supposed wounds. He had grown taller, and thinner. A coat of jet-black hair was growing over his chest. His nails had grown into three-inch long claws, and he stood on his paws like an animal, baring his fangs at them.

His appearance made everyone hesitate and afraid. Pandit was increasingly susceptible because he had a special relationship with his brother.

Perhaps, the thing could sense his fear because he ignored Raesh, who was injured and an easy target, or Khargosh who was not far from him, and bolted toward Pandit. He jumped over Raesh and flew eight feet in the air before falling to the ground and continuing without stopping for a heartbeat. Khargosh swung the rope he carried and let it fly after his son, but he failed to catch the monster.

Pandit screamed. He knew it was coming for him. That thing was not his brother. His brother was dead and wanted to kill him too.

Mannat was not going to let it happen. He was the only one who could help Pandit, and he didn’t let his friend down. His ‘focus’ allowed him to forget about everything else and take a stance. He pulled his hand up and fired a fizzing shot of mana at the creature’s chest, just in time as it lunged at Pandit. The monster noticed his action, but couldn’t dodge it mid-flight.

The two collided.

Mana strike erupted at the monster's chest without fanfare and drove him to the ground. The creature was pushed back but wasn’t sent flying like Little butcher. He didn’t lose his consciousness either and Mannat’s heart fell. He glared at Mannat with hate-filled eyes and was going to act when Khargosh’s rope entwined around his neck and caught him. The monster fell on his back, shrieking and flailing his limbs.

“Wake up, boy!” Khargosh yelled. He pulled the rope with all his strength, causing it to tighten around the monster's neck. However, his strength was his weakness and he couldn’t suffocate the monster. It was doubtful, to begin with, whether the monster needed to breathe. Raesh stood up groaning and jumped on the monster to hold him down so that Khargosh could tie him up. Unfortunately, he was noticed in advance and failed to capture his target. The monster slashed the rope with his claws, rolled to his stomach, and punched away from them on all four limbs.

At this point, Mannat was the only one who had some form of offensive ability against the creature, and the monster would have mortally hurt them all had he attacked. But he didn’t. He stopped running near the edge of the clearing and looked back. He bared his fangs at them, keeping a low-pitched growl hanging at his throat. He barked thrice to warn them not to follow him and then dashed away into the forest without looking back.

Mannat ‘sensed’ the creature that was little butcher disappear far away into the darkness and relaxed his vigilant. “He’s gone,” He informed the others and closed his eyes.

It was their one shot to catch Little butcher. They shouldn’t have let him escape in the first place. Now he was gone and they would have to turn back if they wanted to have a chance the next morning. Ink black clouds were moving in the sky, opening a living void above their heads. The darkness was depressing and the clouds were oppressive. They picked up their battered bodies and started walking back in the direction they had come from.

They abandoned the chase, but not without cause. The night was upon them, and Mannat had a good reason to pull everyone away. He had inspected the monster before it got away, and the result was hard to believe.

[Soldier of Gluttony][Lv-4][Common]

[A being of sin, the soldiers of Gluttony are the most common troops in the horde of demons under the unnamed. Driven by hunger, and fueled by hate, they are a menace to deal with. Despite their appearance, they are not without intelligence, and are known to retreat in face of a strong opponent. Myths suggest one can exchange their life with them for food.]